2004 Chevy Silverado winter braking.

JNARLOCK

MEMBER
2004 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
94,448 MILES

Hi,

Last winter, I had 3 instances where my brakes failed to perform on slippery roads. I hit the pedal, feel it pulsate (as it should. Abs) but the vehicle takes much too long to come to a stop. I know that the braking performance can be hampered when the wheels are full of snow and/or ice, but after going right through a highway intersection with the pedal slammed, I was pretty freaked out. Apparently not enough to bring it in though. Lol! Spring came and it didn't happen again. I did pull the ABS fuse, brakes seemed better but the never-ending bell sounding from the dash and idiot lights are driving me crazy. Is that a brake booster issue or ABS issue in your opinion? Please advise.

2 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

Hi there,

I would be thinking that it could be a tyre issue and a matter of driving to the road conditions, if the road is covered in ice, no amount of braking will stop you.

Mark (mhpautos)

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Friday, November 28th, 2008 AT 1:35 AM

JNARLOCK

MEMBER
5 POSTS

Thanks for the quick reply! That was unexpected but greatly appreciated. Wish I had some money to donate, but now with your expertise you may save me some $$ on repairs and I will make a donation soon.

I did just put a brand new set of "winter" tires on. They were all seasons that I had on last winter. Traction is definitely better but I still have that awful feeling of not knowing if I'm going to stop in time. I grew up with non-ABS vehicles and was very accustomed to the "pump" technique with the brakes. Worked for me on many occasions. If another occurance of the same problem happens, would you recommend simply removing the ABS sensor, or is the problem something worse? There's 5 inches of snow on the ground now, maybe I should try some side streets to test. Thank you for your help. This site is a terrific idea! There's so many people out there that are at the mercy of many dishonest repair centers and mechanics, but to have an honest opinion or at least some troubleshooting techniques really puts the mind at ease. Great job!